Describing an Decrease in Amount: English Vocabulary List

extremely small in size or amount

"His salary is exiguous."

"The exiguous salary was not enough to live on so he had to take a second job delivering pizzas in the evenings."

pitifully small or inadequate

"He paid a measly amount."

"The company offered a measly two percent raise after a year of hard work and the employees felt insulted by the small increase."

lacking in quantity, quality, or extent

"The portions are meager."

"The refugees survived on meager rations of rice and beans and many children suffered from malnutrition during the long conflict."

a reduction or lessening in the intensity, degree, or amount of something

"Noise abatement measures were put in place near the airport for residents."

"Tax abatement is a temporary reduction or complete exemption from property taxes"

to reduce the size, amount, or number of something

"The value will decrement by one."

"You need to decrement the counter by one each time a customer leaves the store or the queue."

to subtract or take away an amount or part from a total

"Taxes are deducted from your paycheck."

"The company will deduct the cost of the damaged equipment directly from your monthly salary payment."

to place limits or boundaries on something to reduce its scope or size

"The company curtailed unnecessary expenses."

"The manager decided to curtail the meeting because everyone was tired and nothing productive was being discussed anymore."

to diminish in quantity or size over time

"Water supplies dwindled during the drought."

"The food supplies began to dwindle rapidly as more and more refugees arrived at the camp every single day."

to decrease in quantity, intensity, or level over time

"His interest tailed off over time."

"His interest in learning the guitar began to tail off after he realized how difficult it was to play."

to gradually decline or recede

"The tide began to ebb slowly."

"The crowd's energy began to ebb as the concert went on for more than three hours without any break."

experiencing a gradual reduction or decrease in quality, quantity, or value over time

"His health is declining."

"The declining sales forced the company to close several stores and lay off hundreds of employees who had worked there for many years."

to gradually reduce or decrease something by cutting away or eliminating bit by bit

"He whittled down the branch into a stick."

"She managed to whittle down her huge to do list by focusing only on the most urgent tasks first."